Jonny Gomes on coming to A’s, Coco Crisp, ticket sales

Jonny Gomes grew up an A’s fan in Petaluma, and he said Monday that his love for baseball really began with the 1989 World Series between Oakland and Giants.

“That’s when I decided this is what I want to do,” he said by phone.

Now, Gomes, 31, is a member of the A’s after passing his physical on Monday. He signed a one-year deal worth $1 million, and he can earn another $200,000 with incentives.

Gomes said that the A’s stood out for him this offseason as a strong opportunity, in part because he has played for a low-payroll team that was given little success in a tough division before. He believes the lightly regarded 2012 A’s can be like the 2008 Tampa Bay team, which went from 96 losses and last place to the World Series.

“We can shock the world, because it’s been done before,” Gomes said. “Coming from me, it’s not hearsay. I’ve done it, living proof – 25 dudes in the AL East, and we went to the World Series on a $42 million payroll.”

That was the same year that Gomes threw punches at then-Boston outfielder Coco Crisp in an on-field brawl. Now, Crisp is his Oakland teammate.

“We worked out together that offseason,” Gomes said with a laugh. “It had absolutely nothing to do with Coco and what he brings, it’s that he charged my player. We talked about it that winter. I was like, ‘I’d like you on my team,’ and he said, ‘I’d like you on my team.’ We won’t be fighting.”

Gomes said he hopes to get some time in the outfield, and he believes he’s also likely to DH some. He had a down season in 2011, batting .209, but he noted that his on-base percentage was .325 and he hit 14 homers and drove in 43 runs in just 311 at-bats.

Gomes typically draws big crowds when he’s in the Bay Area, and he believes that will continue now that he’ll be playing in Oakland fulltime.

“I’m going to have to get on the good side of the ticket-booth people, so they hook me up,” he said. “And if all else fails, if I totally lay an egg, at least ticket sales will go up.”

(This is the full text of a story that wound up being abbreviated in today’s Chronicle. Gomes says he is planning to attend FanFest on Sunday.)